Crypto Sapiens Season 8 Budget Proposal

[Humpty]

Project Champion - Humpty Calderon

Squad - Humpty Calderon (humpty#6939), Yofi A (Yofi A.#4816), Kenichi (kenichi#6336), Leah Par (leah_par🏴#5932), Rachel Rose (Rachel | Opolis#4695), EurekaJohn (EurekaJohn#2094), Studio07 (Studio07#5466), Latsan (Latsan🏴#6466)

Purpose: We are a Public Good. Affiliation; Research Guild, AV Guild, Marketing Guild

Authors, Editors; Humpty Calderon, InfiniteHomie

Date Created; April 23, 2023

Date Posted: May 8, 2023

Funds Requested; 1,500,000 BANK

Project Multisig: 0x01999E431752136372a3d485F527907a6B02A1D1

Discord Server: Crypto Sapiens

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project Teaser

Summary

Retrospective

Financial Implications

Seasonal KPI

Commitments

Branding

Further Project Channels

Project Teaser

Crypto Sapiens is one of the first projects to have originated from BanklessDAO as a podcast series. It was also among the first projects to receive funding from the BanklessDAO Genesis Grants Committee in September 2021.

Since its inception in the BanklessDAO Discord server, the project has grown into a prominent platform that is paving the way for decentralized media and sharing stories from web3 pioneers and influencers as a means of inspiration to the future web3 builders.

We have demonstrated the success of the podcast through the highest number of downloads among all podcast series that originated from BanklessDAO. This success can be attributed to the strong and talented AV skills of founding member Eureka John, the production team, and the original project champion and founder Humpty Calderon.

Now, we are ready to expand our reach and truly bridge the gap between the crypto curious individuals of today, and the Web3 builders, and thought leaders of the future.

Summary

Current State

As a growing network of Web3 podcasts, Crypto Sapiens highlights the important topics and milestones in Crypto, DeFi, NFTs and more.

Hosted by Humpty Calderon, each podcast episode dives into rich, meaningful and inspiring conversations with notable pioneers such as, Chase Chapman, Kevin Owocki, Niran Babaola, Tracheopteryx and many more leaders across the Web3 space.

Retrospective

We completed a retrospective in Season 6 resulting in a pause of new episodes.

We took Season 7 to reflect on the past in order to create a more sustainable revenue model for the future.

We have restructured both the organization and production models. Miro | Online Whiteboard for Visual Collaboration

We sought inspiration through re-purposing our previously created content. Doing this also provided the opportunity to understand the quality and impact of both our individual contributions, as well as our work as a team.

We began publishing a newsletter every other week, and increased the number of articles published.

We conducted several focused sprints and contemplated ways to integrate innovative web3 technology to improve the project’s overall reach, engagement with our audience and to form a financial model that would allow for our self-sustainability.

Future State

From our reflection, comes the future state of Crypto Sapiens, a web3 media powerhouse.

Future State - Growth

In order to establish a larger presence and to increase our audience reach, we have introduced new producers to the project that will focus on different platforms to maximize growth potential.

We will use analytical data and social listening in order to deliver on trend content.

We will continue publishing a newsletter every other week.

We will regularly publish on-trend blog posts and articles.

Future State - Thought leadership

To increase our presence in the crypto-twitter space, and engage our audience through thought leadership discussions, we have added Rachel Rose to the Crypto Sapiens team. We are excited for the knowledge and enthusiasm she will bring to the team. Besides passion, Rachel brings her knowledge and experience as a contributor with many exemplary projects, like Opolis and ETHDenver.

Future State - Education

We have begun to develop educational initiatives that will not only fill both demand and need in the web3 media industry, but will also be tailored to the learning needs and learning style of each individual. Miro | Online Whiteboard for Visual Collaboration

These initiatives will encompass the general areas of:

• Audio Visual skills
• Podcast production skills

These will be designed for incubator, self-paced and individual session models.

Future State- Self Sustainability

We are exploring many possible areas in order to establish self-sustainability. These include:

• Monetization of published articles and newsletters
• Minting Podcasts created
• Opportunities from our partnership with Panvala stamps
• Grants
• Crowdfunding
• Consumer NFT use cases for educational lessons and courses

Financial Implications

We did not request Seasonal funding during the Seasons 7 or Season 8 funding periods.

At this time, we are requesting a total of 1,500,000 BANK

Inter-Project Distribution as follows:

Workgroup	BANK Allocated
Ops/Admin	300K BANK
Production	450K BANK
Social Media	168K BANK
Engineering	272K BANK
Distribution	210K BANK
Education	100K BANK

Workgroup Accountabilities

Ops/Admin:

• Project Champion
• Discord Admin
• Notion Admin
• Treasury/Tokenomics
• Contributor Payments
• Procuring Grants
• Production Oversight
• Project Growth
• Analytics
• Payroll/Multisig

Production

• Researches current trends
• Identifies potential guests
• Develops themes, talking points
• Researches, coordinates guests
• Liaison between host and guest
• Coord. episode materials
• Host, create content

Social Media

• Develop and execute social media strategies.
• Create, curate, and manage content across multiple social media platforms.
• Monitor and respond to comments and messages in a timely manner.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest social media trends and best practices.
• Make recommendations for improving social media presence.

Engineering

• Content Editing
• Videograms
• Content Assembly
• Content Mix
• Master
• Documenting processes

Distribution

• Marketing
• Newsletter
• Blog/Article
• Publication Editing
• Design
• Publishing across all platforms

Education

• Development/curation of Audio Visual Courses (content and material)
• Development/curation of Production Courses (content and material)|

Seasonal KPI

Factor	KPI	Success Metric
Podcast episodes downloaded/month	#	Average Monthly Downloads = 3,000
Grants Applied	#	5
Education Content	% Completed	100%

DataGraph

Podcast Episode Downloads and YouTube Views

Social Media Engagement Seasons 6 and 7

Commitments

• BANK Utility

1. tlBANK

2. We are able to support tlBANK and are open to possible use case scenarios/suggestions

3. We are also willing to “test run” use case scenarios, to assist with the ability to develop future implementation models for projects.

4. We can offer 2 full scholarships for the Web3 Audio Visual technician training course and the Web3 Production Manager training courses.

• Through the treasury/token

3. Share 10% of Season 8 revenue with Bankless DAO
4. BANK Buybacks

Branding

Crypto Sapiens has their own brand separate from that of BanklessDAO. As with previous grants received, if this grant is received, Crypto Sapiens will use BanklessDAO as a submark in our media presence, just not as our primary brand identity. The introduction portion of the podcast episodes announces to our listeners: “Crypto Sapiens is produced in partnership with BanklessDAO”.

Further Project Channels

• Linktree

Should Crypto Sapiens receive funding for Season 8?

• Yes, I support this proposal
• No, I do not support this proposal

[Humpty]

I saw some proposals with a poll and others without, so I was not sure if I needed to add one at the bottom of this proposal. Happy to oblige if one is needed.

If anyone has questions about the project or our proposal, happy to answer them too.

[Jengajojo]

Thank you CryptoSapiens for the proposal.

• Can you tell us how many episodes you are planning to produce with this budget?
• How many hours does it take to produce each episode?
• How much income has the project received outside banklessDAO?
• Can you tell us what is the BANK/(view+download) of the project so far?

@Humpty

We did not request Seasonal funding during the Seasons 7 or Season 8 funding periods.

Does this mean this is a fresh proposal and hence must pass thru the usual grants process starting from community sanity check?

[links]

You will definitely need a poll to reach forum consensus. Thanks!

[Humpty]

Thanks, I have added one at the bottom of the proposal.

[Humpty]

Right now we have 12 episodes in pre-production. We will start recording those mid-May. We are targeting adding another 12 episodes this season. That will be include two mini series. One exploring L2s and the other decentralized data.

Production time varies depending on format and required deliverables. It’s roughly 15-20 hours from pre-production through distribution.

We have secured payment for a series on Twitter Spaces with Gitcoin previously. We had hoped to scale that part of the business; however, we found few projects who were willing to engage in that format after the market downturn. We also attempted to engage sponsors through traditional formats, but we found some sponsors preferred to have some say over which topics they supported through sponsorships. This is why we are launching a new initiative that seeks to engage sponsors through curated topics. (i.e. mini series)

Rough calculation for BANK/downloads historically is ~ 66 BANK/download or $0.31/download.

With that said, production costs are expected to rise as we are adding new producers who will not be doing this for free as I have for the past few 2 years. We are forecasting downloads to go up as well and so too the number of sponsorships we can lock in to offset the increase in production costs.

I hope that addresses your questions. If not, feel free to DM me or schedule a call with me to go over it more at length. Calendly - humpty

EDIT: Forgot to answer the bit about community sanity check. I believe Crypto Sapiens is grandfathered in as a Season 0 project. Not asking for funding for Season 7 was to perform several retrospectives and ensure we were continuing to add value to bDAO as well as our audience. We did not want to tap bDAO for funds we would not commit to the production of new content during that time. Not sure if that should exclude us from continuing to benefit from our relationship as a longtime partner and collaborator of bDAO.

[homie]

@Humpty

1. We can offer 2 full scholarships for the Web3 Audio Visual technician training course and the Web3 Production Manager training courses.

AV does this, it seems.

There’s a lot of initiatives that are suggested in the presentation above that could utilize partnerships within bdao including podcast hatchery, av guild, etc, that have bank available to spend towards those initiatives.

A new program revamp in season 8 (that while I’m hopeful in its success, it is not a confirmed success) versus an program enhancement in season 8 at 1.5 million bank is a tough sell versus 750k bank that can be used to supplementation while you procure the sponsors that you’ve discussed.

I can’t support 1.5 million. I could support 750.

[Humpty]

Hey homie. I appreciate your comments.

I believe you above many here will understand the length of time taken on deconstructing our project to understand how we could become more efficient. I think you will also understand the limited resources we had to achieve what we have in the past. The lack of resources I believe also has caused inferior work to be done. And part of the “revamp” as you’ve called it includes onboarding new contributors that will elevate the production quality of Crypto Sapiens. Having yourself onboarded one of our new contributors you will also know the cost of production is much higher with a 12 week series costing $1,200 not including post production or distribution. At the current valuation of BANK 750,000 is roughly equal to $3700. This would not allow for us to pay our contributors a fair rate for engineering the audio, creating copy and articles, and distributing across owned media channels and social media. Let alone add the new series we’ve planned to engage sponsors.

Lastly, as the co-author of this proposal prior to your departure of the project, I understand your preference for 750,000 BANK as that’s what you had originally recommended. But after further analysis, we believe that 1,500,000 is more in line with the needs of the project and expectation to elevate the value we generate for our audience and to bDAO too.

[homie]

Thanks for your response, I appreciate it.

Yes, the costs are indeed high. I also did onboard Rachel, who likely has the ability to bring in revenue to CS.

However, what you have in your treasury could potentially be more than most other projects. Podcast hatchery I do believe was denied funding because of the amount they have in their multi sig.

I was one of the starting authors for this proposal. Knowing how much was in the treasury, knowing about the questions i had regarding investing some of those funds in CS’s treasury, I decided on 750k.

So, no, for the interest of fairness, I probably wouldn’t support anything high than 750k

[Jengajojo]

Thanks for the reply

@Humpty

It’s roughly 15-20 hours from pre-production through distribution.

The max cost for 24 episodes at 20 hours/episode is 480,000 BANK. I understand that you all are working on written content and educational initiatives, but assuming Crypto Sapiens is still primarily a podcast product, the costs for other activities is 67% of the total ask!

• Is podcast still the core product?
• How many newsletters and blog posts are planned with this budget?
• What does the distribution of time look like for educational initaitves? and what is the teams specific past experience with developing these courses:

@Humpty

• Development/curation of Audio Visual Courses (content and material)
• Development/curation of Production Courses (content and material)|

• Are there any plans to share this with the DAO treasury?

@Humpty

We have secured payment for a series on Twitter Spaces with Gitcoin previously.

[homie]

As a follow up, I have to consider fairness to bdao in this approach. You have a treasury that is pretty close to that of podcast hatchery, if I recall correctly.

If I read correctly and based on the conversation in regards to this proposal, there’s not much of a funding reinvestment to the DAO. So the ask versus the lack of a reinvestment (why crypto sapiens versus AV, BA, whatever) is concerning.

I greatly appreciate the time I had in crypto sapiens. I appreciate what I’ve learned from @EurekaJohn with respect to AV. However, aside from that, aside from the comraderie I gained from EJ, from @Leahpar , from @Ekira, and others. And let’s not forget how excited I am for @RachelBOpolis series. I just don’t know.

But I don’t know about that 1.5 mil. I just don’t know.

Why not pair up with podcast hatchery and utilize the greater pool of funds? Why not talk to @zimteemo and @0xZFi.eth about partnerships to utilize the funds that way?

It hurts me to say it because of how much time I personally put into this: but the ask is too high versus the options you have. I’m sorry.

[EurekaJohn]

I can’t speak for everyone on the team, but I can speak for my past experince on coaching podcasting. I have coached several people throught the Podcast Hatchery program and have spent many hours online putting together shows and coaching shows such as Bankless Africa and The Ab Initio podcast for the Bankless DAO legal guild. I have also begun my own outside practice of coaching and producing podcasts. One of the most recent examples is The Lifestyle Accounting Show. Over the course of several seasons as a contributor to Crypto Sapiens and BanklessDAO as a whole, I feel the Crypto Sapiens brand is ready to take it up several notches. With the new energy and skills being brought in by Rachel, I have no doubt of the elevated levels that Crypto Sapiens can achieve, not only as a podcast, but as a whole brand.

[EurekaJohn]

You make a great point about the Podcast Hatchery and AV Guild. As a silent member of both, I would love to find some way to re-engage with both. I love the folks in both programs. But for now, Crypto Sapiens has a specific focus and that is 12 audio/video episodes done to a new level. I don’t think 750k BANK will cover what we are going to achieve if we are wanting to give it 100%.

[homie]

You’re right, it likely wouldn’t. If there wasn’t a backup of funds already existing in the multi sig.

However, between the coins that are in the multi sig, plus the promised funding that I’ve heard in meetings, you’re looking somewhere in the realm of having a total of 10,000 dollars worth of tokens in the multi sig at 750k bank.

The crypto sapiens multi sig has $5350 worth of tokens in its multi sig now. FYI.

Add another 750k bank on top of that, you’re at maybe 15, 16k in your multisig. Then you have to decide is this what’s fair, and if crypto sapiens can match the reinvestment compared to the other projects.

[homie]

So you then have to decide, is $16000 fair without a solid understanding of reinvestment?

I’d want to see the same from things like Bankless Africa, Bankless Publishing, etc.

I just don’t know if I see it being fair if there are already funds that haven’t been used.

[homie]

Don’t get me wrong, if this passes, I’ll be thrilled. 1000 percent.

[Leahpar]

Crypto Sapiens podcast has been surprisingly inspiring and impactful in my Web3 journey. It has provided me with concrete contents when most written contents seem so confusing.

I have been able to introduce Web3 and DAOs to some of my friends and family via the podcast episodes, earn Banks (still earning), and I have watched my self gradually go down the rabbithole.

If anything, I would love to see more valuable content on Crypto Sapiens Podcast and broaden my roots in this purpose that I have found.

Absolutely in support!

[RachelBOpolis]

The Crypto Sapiens project truly embodies the spirit of Web3, emphasizing values such as inclusivity, community building, and producing high-quality content. As a member of the Bankless DAO community, I have always admired these qualities, and my appreciation for them has only grown in recent weeks since joining as a contributor of Crypto Sapiens for Season 8. From the moment I stepped into the team, I felt an immediate sense of belonging.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to @Humpty and all the others who have poured their love and hard work into this project. It is a privilege for me to contribute to the team’s efforts in creating content this season.

I’m especially thankful to Humpty for embodying exceptional leadership qualities, @homie for providing invaluable guidance during my onboarding process, Leah for giving support with the social media elements, and Eureka John for ongoing assistance with AV aspects in preparation for the season.

(On the topic of finance) For those who are curious, Crypto Sapiens is tapping into Opolis’ referral program to create a stream of revenue via sharing a referral link in our description. I’m hoping this adds an additional financial sustainability element to the project! This equates to $100 per referral, and an additional $200 paid to Crypto Sapiens for anyone that joins Opolis as a member through the referral link.

I am open to strategizing ways to create a more financially sustainable future for Crypto Sapiens, and will continue brainstorming with the team to create more long-term equitable solutions for the project.

I give my full support in moving forward with Season 8

[links]

Thanks for the proposal! I have a few questions:

• the KPIs seem to be from last season. Have you thought about what your KPIs will be this season?
• are you able to see how many unique downloads and views you have?
• How do most people find out when you have new episodes? Are you able to track whether views/downloads are coming from Twitter/newsletter/etc?
• how many contributors do you have?
• how many episodes are you able to produce with the budget you have requested?

Thanks again! Very positive listenership numbers, great to see your traction increasing

[Ekira]

Tbh, Crypto Sapiens has been an amazing community! As a contributor, I’m always eager to listen the podcast episodes cos it’s highly educative and I’ve learnt the most about web3 through this podcast episodes.

Fast forward to season 7 where we sought inspiration through repurposing our previously created contents, a big ups to Humpty, EurekaJohn, Ornella, Yofi, Leah, Kenichi for their great contributions and lastly to the Homie of all homies!

Absolutely in support!
LFG!!!